Category: People

{Being unsuccessful most times is a product of your actions; no wonder Bob Dylan said “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.”}

Unsuccessful people sow seeds of failure without knowing; they put up traits that would make them a failure and they don’t even know it.

These are some of the habits of unsuccessful people.

{{1. THEY PROCRASTINATE A LOT}}

Unsuccessful people are procrastinators; they avoid doing the job now. They postpone their goals, their dreams and every work they ought to do. When you make procrastination a part of your life, you can hardly ever be successful; the best time to always do it is now.

{{2. THEY GIVE UP EASILY}}

Giving up isn’t a trait of successful people but unsuccessful people. Obstacles and challenges must occur before your breakthrough; while successful people fight to overcome those challenges, unsuccessful people give up rather too easily. Little wonder Thomas Edison said: “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

{{3. THEY ARE UNWILLING TO THINK}}

Creativity comes from within; it’s the ability to think and let your mind explore. Unsuccessful people rather think of irrelevant things; they focus on the problem at hand and not how to overcome it and they are unwilling to let their minds explore.

{{4. THEY AREN’T KNOWLEDGE SEEKERS}}

With knowledge comes opportunity; in the sense that when you know more, you respond better to situations, you become more innovative and knowledgeable enough to detect opportunities.

{{5. THEY ARE SHORT-SIGHTED}}

Shortsightedness is a common trait of unsuccessful people; unsuccessful people don’t see the bigger picture; it’s only about the now for them and rarely about the future. Successful people plan ahead for the future.

{{6. LAZINESS}}

I haven’t seen one importance of laziness, but I can tell you a thousand dangerous things laziness can do to you — and the greatest of them is to make you poor and unsuccessful. Laziness makes you stuck in your comfort zone and you forever become unwilling to bring yourself out of it.

{{7. EXCUSES}}

Unsuccessful people have a lot of excuses for being unsuccessful; they blame a lot of factors like the government, their family background, the harsh economic situation and forget to blame themselves in the process. These factors might make it a bit more difficult for your goals to be achieved, but it doesn’t make it impossible. People who are success-minded would still find a way through; unsuccessful ones would give a zillion reasonable excuses to fail.

{{8. THEY ARE EASILY DISTRACTED}}

Unsuccessful people are easily distracted; they are here and there at the same time, and they lack focus to achieve their desired goals or set target.

{{9. THEY TALK AND DO NOTHING}}

I know of someone who has a lot of dreams, brilliant ideas and puts in zero to nothing effort in actualising those dreams. I share the same sentiments with Derek Sivers who said: “When you tell someone your goal and they acknowledge it, psychologists have found that it’s called a “social reality.” The mind is kind of tricked into feeling that it’s already done. And then because you’ve felt that satisfaction, you’re less motivated to do the actual hard work necessary.”

Always remember this quote by Bob Dylan: “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.”

{Your success, your dreams, your goals and how far in life you want to go lie in your hands. However, your attitude matters a lot and can either take you far or bring you down.}

These are some of those attitudes you should never make a part of your life:

{{1. PRIDE}}

Pride is a stumbling block to success; pride could make you become complacent, pride could make you take very terrible steps and make very bad decisions, pride could make you feel you are better than everyone else and pride could make you ignore good pieces of advice that would take you further in life. A lot of successful people have fallen down in life because of pride and a lot of people haven’t achieved success because of pride.

{{2. IGNORANCE}}

Ignorance simply means being uninformed and not caring. It’s one thing to lack knowledge, to be uninformed or have little understanding or education about something — but the problem lies in not caring, that’s what makes it ignorance.

Ignorance is an act that would never take you far in life. Ignorance is being the fool even though you think you are wise.

{{3. REFUSING TO LEARN FROM LESSONS}}

In every venture or almost everything you do in life, you would definitely make mistakes and these mistakes provide a platform for you to learn and become better. People who learn from their mistakes go on to make better decisions but people who don’t learn from their mistakes don’t go far in life.

{{4. ANGER}}

Anger is a very strong and dangerous emotion you need to handle or it could get the better of you. When you get easily angry or let anger have a hold of your heart, it would definitely impair your decision-making and your tolerance level, and could make you do terrible things in the heat of the moment. Anger is venom without an antidote; you should take it very far away from you.

{{5. ENVY AND JEALOUSY}}

You need to celebrate other people’s success and what’s going on in their lives. You can’t get far in life when you despise those who are successful or ahead of you in life. Envy and jealousy would get you nowhere.

{{6. BEING FRUSTRATED AT LIFE}}

Life can be frustrating sometimes and even treat you unfairly, but you shouldn’t sulk and accept what life throws at you without a fight; you shouldn’t just give up because you feel life is difficult. After those bad times, you should learn to pick yourself up and do better.

Being frustrated at life would take you nowhere.

Your attitude would definitely determine your altitude in life; your actions are seeds and your actions are a reflection of the attitude you have; learn to get the right attitude.

{A lot of job seekers make common mistakes on their CV and many employers and interviewers have been taken aback by such mistakes. While your interview might land you the job, your CV could land you the opportunity to get the job or make you lose the job instantly.}

Your CV is a professional profile and representation of yourself, so there should be no room for errors.

These are some common mistakes job seekers make that you should avoid.

{{INCLUDING IRRELEVANT ACHIEVEMENTS}}

Your employer wants to see something professional and tangible in your CV that can add value to the organisation, but many job seekers make the mistake of listing irrelevant achievements in their CV just to make it look lengthy.

This is a mistake you should never join the crowd in making; lengthy CV isn’t a necessity to land you that dream job.

{{BAD GRAMMER}}

You should never be in a hurry to write your CV. After writing your CV, make sure you proofread it for mistakes and spelling errors. There should be no room for mistakes on your CV. In an employer’s eyes, if you can a mistake on your CV then you would even mess up the job.

{{WRONG CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER}}

When an employer looks at your CV, in your experience and education section, they expect to see your most recent achievements first. So your CV must be arranged in that format. Many job seekers get this wrong.

{{USING SAME TEMPLATE AS EVERYONE ELSE}}

An employer expects you to be original, but many job seekers keep using the same template almost everyone else is using. Many employers frown at this common mistake many job seekers make.

{{USING THE 1 PAGE FORMULA}}

Many job seekers actually believe the myth that a CV should be one paged, but this is only a myth. Your CV should be concise, straight to the point and free from irrelevant achievements. But your employer would be impressed when they see a good and complete CV that’s detailed without having jargons and irrelevant achievements.

{{AVOID CLICHÉS AND SHORT SENTENCES}}

In a lot of CVs, clichés and short sentences are usually found, but in essence, they are unprofessional and unimpressive and should be avoided.

Your CV should describe your qualities in well-written sentences.

Have you been making any of these mistakes? Maybe you should learn from them and be different from the crowd who regularly make these mistakes.

{More often than not, people tend to attach little importance to what they wear to job interviews, because they feel it doesn’t really matter. But unknown to them, the way you’re dressed to a job interview plays a part in whether you would get hired at the end of the day.}

Employers usually place big emphasis on what their potential recruits wear to the screening process, and if you’re not properly dressed according to accepted standards, they’ll never take you seriously. It is always good to look professional and official to an interview, unless the interviewer says otherwise. So as you keep that in mind, it is also important that you remember to avoid the following fails…

{{1. DENIM}}

Denims are casual wears, and as such, should only be worn on informal occasions. An interview is a formal occasion, so it’s expected that you go there looking as formal as possible.

{{2. TIGHT OUTFITS}}

Sometimes, in a bid to wear fitting clothes, people end up wearing very tight outfits. You can wear a fitting outfit without looking sandwiched inside of it; all it takes is to get it tailor-made, with your measurements. Wearing a tight outfit to an interview is wrong for a couple of reasons…

First of all, you’ll feel uncomfortable in it, and that could make you perform poorly in the interview. Secondly, as a woman, when you wear something so tight to an interview, you could pass the wrong impression of yourself to the interviewer.

{{3. TOO MUCH MAKEUP}}

For ladies, it’s not a bad thing to wear makeup to an interview, but it is wrong to wear too much of it. Keep your makeup down and simple.

{{4. BRIGHT COLORED OUTFITS}}

Bright colors like pink and purple must be avoided for interviews because they’re not professional colors. Go for black, grey, or blue instead.

{{5. HATS}}

The interviewer wants to see (know) his potential employee or make eye contact, wearing a hat would make that impossible and unprofessional.

Dress properly, because it does count. You could lose your dream job just because you do not look good enough. I wish you loads of luck as you chase that job.

{As youths, it’s important to avoid some of these financial mistakes as you might have to battle with the consequences later in life.}

Below are 5 money mistakes every youth should avoid making.

{{1. SPENDING WITHOUT A BUDGET}}

Spending without a budget is wrong. You can’t manage your finances properly if you don’t have a budget.

{{2. THINKING INVESTING ISN’T NECESSARY}}

As youths, it’s so easy to think investments aren’t needed. Sometimes you tell yourself why invest when you have a good job. Investing today will help you in the long run.

{{3. PARTYING AFTER PAY DAY}}

This lifestyle is common among youths. You shouldn’t waste your youth with this lifestyle. Most people with this lifestyle run into debts before the end of the month.

{{4. NOT HAVING A RETIREMENT PLAN}}

So many people today are scared of retiring because they don’t have a retirement plan. Your future starts today. Don’t deceive yourself by telling yourself you have enough time to do that. The best time to start securing your future is now.

{{5. COMPETING WITH FRIENDS}}

Competing with friends is another financial mistake most youths make. You don’t have to buy a car just because your friend bought one. Avoid the temptation of competing with friends.

{If you want to make a name for yourself in this tough world, there are valuable skills you need to have.}

Here are 6 valuable skills everyone needs to have.

{{1. ABILITY TO LISTEN}}

Listening is a skill every successful person has. You can’t be a good listener if you can’t be patient. Learn to listen before you talk. This is a very important skill you need.

{{2. ADAPTABILITY}}

Charles Darwin is one of the greatest scientists to have lived on earth and his quote about adaptability sums up everything you need to know about having this skill.

“It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

{{3. ABILITY TO CONVINCE}}

Being able to convince people is an important skill you need. You can’t sell your ideas or products to people if you don’t know how to convince people.

{{4. CARING LESS ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK}}

Until you learn to care less about what others think and become comfortable with who you are, you might not find happiness in life. So care less about what others think and care more about what you think.

{{5. SAYING “NO” AT THE RIGHT TIME}}

You have to learn to stand by your opinion and say ‘no’. Stop trying to please everyone. You can’t please everyone so learn to say ‘no’ when it’s needed.

{{6. BEING VIGILANT}}

You have to be be vigilant about happenings around you. You will miss out on opportunities if you don’t keep abreast news and information.

{Being successful is everyone’s dream but not everyone knows how to achieve success. Success isn’t easy to achieve but these pieces of advice will help show you the way to success.}

Here are 10 pieces of advice that will make you successful.

1. If you believe it can happen, it will happen.

2. You cannot taste success until you’re happy doing what you do.

3. What ever you do, give it your best as if it were the only thing you ever wanted to do.

4. A life without any ambition is devoid of any purpose.

5. Confidence will take you places. If you do not take pride in your own strengths, nobody ever will.

6. Find that one thing that inspires you.

7. Vision is what makes an achiever out of a dreamer. What’s your vision?

8. Your integrity is something you must never compromise on.

9. Humility is an asset that will take you to the top.

10. Seize every opportunity and the world will unfold itself right in front of your eyes.

{Mukamana Laurence, a 58-year old woman from Karihira village, Gihembe cell, of Kageyo sector from Gicumbi district has two stories to her life; a story of hopelessness and swimming into sweeping poverty and another story of progress and living a dignified life . She has had a hard life. Now she has a good life. She has been living with HIV/AIDS and as a widow since 1994. Mukamana has three children of who one has completed secondary school.}

She lived a life of pauperism as she could hardly find decent means of fending for her family.

But she kept on hoping against hope. That little flicker of hope got nurtured when she was selected among beneficiaries of Girinka program in 2006.

“Whoever has the time-honoured trait of determination is bound to succeed and attain the goals of her aspirations. I remember hard conditions I experienced in the past. After getting ARV therapy, I would go to beg, to be able to get a bite, simply for life’s survival. However, the situation has changed. When I got the cow, I started drinking milk in good and satisfactory portions. As a sickly person who was formerly frail and waiting to die, I regained strength, a good physical appearance and above all a flooding amount of hope. It was then that I started thinking of a project from which I could earn and support my family survival,” she narrates with a burning glow of confidence splashed over her aging face.

With the use of cow droppings as manure, she explains, the yields from her not so expansive garden increased. And with drinking milk on a regular basis and in desired quantities, her health sprouted and her formerly emaciated body blossomed into a new state. The worries about HIV/AIDS were subdued. She was now in company of a good income from the milk and the garden, and a proud woman affording a balanced diet.
Mukamana can now earn Rwf 15,000 every week from her garden selling fruits and vegetables. She says she preferred growing fruits and vegetables to other crops that would not take her much strength as a person living with HIV/AIDS.

She has exploited her garden in which she planted to the extent that she has managed to build a beautiful house of three bedrooms and a sitting room worth Rwf 2,000,000.

Mukamana explains that she, as usual, takes anti retroviral drugs and is able to feed and support her children.

Talking to IGIHE, ,Mukamana said that she wants to meet President Paul Kagame face to face to voice her appreciation over his good leadership that has recognized the vulnerable and supported them from the abyss of death to becoming millionaires like her.

“I have been hearing president Kagame on radio but I want to meet him. His Girinka program uplifted me from poverty, hopelessness and near death. I would have died but you can see how healthy I am. No one can tell from mere looking that I am HIV positive,” narrates Mukamana.

{{Girinka, the silver bullet }}

The Girinka Munyarwanda program was launched in 2006 by President Paul Kagame as an effort to support poor families get out of extreme poverty and hunger. The program is expected to be completed in 2017 where 350,000 poor families will have got cows.

A survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources in 2014/2015 indicates that Rwandese livelihoods were transformed through Girinka program.

Milk production has increased between 2009-2010 to 333,727 liters, a 20% increase from the previous period before the program.

Farmyard manure in Ngoma district is said to have increased crop production of Girinka beneficiaries by 90%. Others have used cow dung to construct biogas facilities, eliminated nutritional deficiencies, fed into unity and reconciliation as well as improved access to medical insurance and education.